Ben Adaephon Delat
Ben Adaephon Delat, commonly known as Quick Ben, was squad mage of the 9th Squad,Bridgeburners, originally from the Seven Cities continentGardens of the Moon, Dramatis Personae, UK MMPB p. xii. Quick Ben was described as being dark skinned, tall and having long, feminine hands. Whiskeyjack once stated that while Kruppe was the most intelligent man alive, that Quick Ben was but a short step behind. Magic As a result of his soulshifting, Quick Ben had absorbed the souls of eleven members of a mage cabal. Quick Ben had access to twelve separate warrens, though he could only access a maximum of seven at any one time. History Pre-Bridgeburners At the age of four, Quick Ben woke up screaming from a bad dream in which "he had died, yet walked the world still, for he had forgotten something. Forgotten, and no matter what he did, no recollection was possible. And so his corpse wandered, everywhere, with ever the same question on his lips, a question delivered to every single person cursed to cross his path. What? What have I forgotten?"The Bonehunters, Chapter 15, UK MMPB p.736 At the age of ten, living in Aren, Quick Ben played a prank on his entire extended family of 42 members including four-month old Minarala. This included the use of the old art of making figures which incorporated some part of a person like a hair or nail clipping to then be used in a magic ritualThe Bonehunters, Chapter 15, UK MMPB p.732. His olderThe Bonehunters, Chapter 15, UK MMPB p.731 sister Torahaval chased him across the city and eventually caught up with him in the Prelid Quarter where Quick played another trick on her. After that, Torahaval decided to hate him foreverThe Bonehunters, Chapter 15, UK MMPB p.731-733. She completed rituals to sever her ties to her brother but he made certain that not all threads between them were cutThe Bonehunters, Chapter 15, UK MMPB p.752. Prior to his joining the Malazan Army, Quick Ben was a High Priest of Rashan in Seven Cities and a former prime contender for the Magi of Shadow position in the Deck of Dragons. After defecting from the cult of Rashan and burning the robes of his vestementGardens of the Moon, Chapter 12, UK MMPB p.401, he became a mage primarily utilizing the Meanas warren. He then became one of twelve members of the Holy Falah'd's Mage cabal. According to the Korvalah demon Pearl, the name Ben Adaephon Delat was marked on the scrolls listing the Mages who fell to the Empire in Seven CitiesGardens of the Moon, Chapter 13, UK MMPB p.423. The Forging of the Bridgeburners Whiskeyjack and his 7th Company were tasked with hunting down Quick Ben and his cabal during the Malazan Empire's conquest of Seven Cities. They chased him across the Pan'potsun Waste and into the Holy Desert, Raraku. This chase became the event which forged Whiskeyjack's recruits into the elite Bridgeburner company, so called because the holy desert was said to have burned the bridges to their pasts. During the pursuit, one by one the eleven mages in the cabal died and shifted their souls into Quick Ben and in the end only he remained. Among these souls were: *Kebharla, more a scholar than a mage *Renisha, a sorceror of High Meanas *Keluger, a Septime Priest of D'riss *Narkal, the warrior-mage sworn to Fener and aspirant to the god's Mortal Sword *Ullan, the Soletaken priestess of Soliel *Set'alahd Crool, a Jhag half-blood *Etra, a mistress of Rashan *Birith'erah, mage of the Serc warren *Gellid, witch of Tennes . Once Whiskeyjack and his Bridgeburners caught up to Quick Ben, Kalam was revealed to have been his accomplice. However, a mutual respect had blossomed between the men and Quick Ben joined the Bridgeburners at the end of this fraught pursuit. In Gardens of the Moon The Siege of Pale During the first two years of the Siege, Quick Ben was stationed with his fellow Bridgeburners beneath the city of Pale in an attempt to literally undermine the city walls from beneath. The Malaz 2nd Army mage, Hairlock was sent by High Fist Dujek Onearm to strike a deal with Whiskeyjack and Quick Ben to counter the expected betrayal of Tayschrenn during the planned assault on Moon's Spawn and its guardian, Anomander Rake. Aftermath of the Siege Having escaped the collapse of the mines underneath the city that killed most of his comrades, Quick Ben was accompanied by Whiskeyjack, Kalam and Sorry to find the wizard Hairlock and fulfill their part of the bargain. Finding his dying corpse, Quick Ben swiftly soulshifted Hair lock's soul to the body of a puppet, with the mage Tattersail as another witness. He then handed over responsibility of the puppet to Tattersail, and departed with the rest of his squad for the city. In Memories of Ice Quick Ben was sent by Whiskeyjack to trap Pannion Seer. Joining forces with the Bonecaster Talamandas, he recovers from the poisoning of the warrens and gains access to them, but during their jaunt he is warned by Hood to convince Ganoes Paran from blessing High House Chains as part of the Deck. When he chooses mercy as the Master of the Deck, the wizard saves the Seer's sister from the Rift. ] In The Bonehunters The wizard joined the ranks of the Bonehunters stationed under the Adjunct as the army's High Mage. He saved his sister, Torahaval, from becoming a victim of PolielThe Bonehunters, Chapter 15, UK MMPB p.758-766. During the battle of Malaz Island, the wizard stayed in a his cabin on the Froth Wolf, planning to come to the aid of Kalam at Kalam's request. However, before Quick Ben could join Kalam, he was taken by Shadowthrone to assist Trull Sengar at the Throne of Shadow. In "Dust of Dreams" At Fiddlers reading in Letheras, Quick Ben is named Magus of High House Dark . He travels with the Bonehunters across the Letherii continent into the Wastelands . When the Bonehunters are confronted by an army of K'Chain Nah'ruk, he destroys an entire phalanx of the Nah'ruk before disappearing into a massive crater created by the Nah'ruk's lightning. In "The Crippled God" Quick Ben visited the Spar of Andii where he recovered two items, one of which was a scepter with which he summoned a (demonic?) horse. Whilst doing so, he addressed a not visible 'Mother', possibly Mother Dark. Once Quick has departed, the tapping of a cane upon rock was heardThe Crippled God, Chapter 2. Quick Ben joined forces with Kalam in helping the Paran siblings fight the Pure Blood Forkrul Assail in the north of Kolanse, using their skills to assassinate the Pure Bloods on and off the battlefield. The two united with Fiddler and Hedge at the Marine/Heavy detachment guarding the Crippled God's body in the final battle with the Assail. Trivia Quick Ben might be the author of the poem Azath who is called Adaephon. Notes and References Category:Males Category:High Mages Category:Meanas mages Category:Cult of Rashan Category:Malazans Category:Bridgeburners Category:Mages Category:Seven Cities natives Category:Bonehunter Category:Ascendants Category:Tennes Category:D'riss pl:Ben Adaephon Delat